#2 - Defilement

"Defilement (kilesa) Mental qualities that obscure the clarity of the mind. There are three basic sorts - passion, aversion, and delusion - but these can combine into a variety of forms. One standard list gives sixteen in all: greed, malevolence, anger, rancor, hypocrisy, arrogance, envy, miserliness, dishonesty, boastfulness, obstinacy, violence, pride, conceit, intoxication, and heedlessness."
(Source, Pure and Simple: Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Laywoman. By Upasika Kee Nanayon. Wisdom Publications, 2005.)

Story to relate to Defilement:
All I had to get was a White Musk EDT 60ml today at the shop. What lure my mind to overspend and get more unwanted items? Temptations! The shop was having a members' special 20% discount on all products. And I'm a member of the shop. Unconscious and conscious thoughts/conversations flooded my mind such as "I ran out of moisturizer and perhaps or not I could find it today." After browsing around and spoke to the retail associate, she recommended the moisturizer suitable to my needs.

While waiting for payment for the two items, the retail associate suggested I get additional item worth $2 to get a free umbrella worth $7. I hesitated. Second round of thoughts went through my mind again such as "Just what I need for a raining weather!" And then I thought of my expiring membership in December and I asked "How much to renew?" The retail associate checked and responded with $29 to renew for another year of membership. And then my mind was like, okay, I will continue looking for that amount of item to renew."

All I had to do was to just get the white musk edt but I ended more with more items:

1) White Musk EDT 60ml - girl friend
2) Spa Wisdom moisturizer - for myself
3) Gift set worth $29.90 - "Christmas is coming, surely I can give it away as a gift!"
4) Long umbrella (Freebie) - "Not sure if I will use it. I have so many long umbrellas at home!"
5) Peach Body Butter moisturizer (Freebie) - "Perhaps can give away as a gift!"

It's not just the battle of this incident that one needs to fight the temptations or defilement of the mind. When the defilement arise before my eyes, will I know? Even if I'm perfectly aware, how am I going to get rid of it? How am I to convince myself and be skillful enough to destroy them right then and there?

And that's is the reason why I am going to start practicing "Mindfulness".

According to the source as above, Mindfulness is the key factor to keep one's mind from concocting thoughts or labeling things. Mindfulness will become constant, ready to probe and investigate, because when the mind really settles down, it gains the power to read the facts within itself clearly. 
[To practice means to use the fire of mindfulness and discernment as a counter-fire to put out the blaze of the defilement.]

*Just as the saying goes, if you fall down a hundred times, get back up a hundred times and resume your stance. "Bhavita bahulikata - make the most of one's mindfulness.

#1 - Discovery.

Definitely a discovery to my Social Psychology blog entries that I had forgotten I written them 4 years ago.. I spent the last hour half reading up some entries from my university-mates and it jolted memories of it. I didn't believe I written them until I read them one entry after another.
*Conclusion - I missed blogging about events that I witnessed, experienced, looking at and I just want to pen it all down.

Ta-Da!! The beginning of my randomness reflections and more to come.. =)